Changing Directions

In February 2008, Richard Canfield turned his back on the six figure income he was earning through his company as a journeyman electrician contracting to an oil sands giant. At only 26, Richard was earning top dollar within his trade, but he left it all to begin building a completely new business. Sometimes, he discovered, its possible to lose your way even if youre making great time. He didnt need a map. He needed a new purpose.

The Entrepreneurial Drive

Electrician is just one of the many hats Richard has worn. Born into a family business, working hard came naturally to him. He graduated with honors from high school, often doing his homework while getting dirty on the front line running errands and delivering shipments for his parents company. Coming from an entrepreneurial family had its perks, however, as Richard got an early start in real estate investing. Investing as a family in the very beginning, Richard learned valuable lessons about acquiring and, more importantly, handling the financing and cashflow of multiple properties.

Evolving From Landlord To Investor

Acquiring more properties personally and through partnerships, Richard realized he’d rather be a real estate investor than a landlord. Focusing on his career as an electrician, he used his creativity to build strategic partnerships that freed him from managing and left more time for investing his steadily increasing income in new properties. Richard finished his journeyman certificate in 2003. Whether working as a lead-hand, foreman, or contractor, his willingness to take on responsibility for projects and deliver results kept propelling him upwards in the trade.

Doing and Teaching

Richard came to teaching naturally as more and more apprentices were assigned to him for training. Along with organizing crews, supervising, encouraging, and motivating his team in the trade, Richard found himself frustrated with the lack of basic financial education. Taking groups aside and doing informal jobsite seminars, Richard always promoted a message of taking concrete action and being accountable for who and where you are financially. Richards real world experience in real estate, investing, and running his own company lent weight to his words.

The more time Richard spent teaching and learning about real estate, investing, joint venture partnerships, and finance in general, the more he began to wonder about his own life. He’d worked hard to get where he was, and the easy thing would be to enjoy the benefits. But Richard had a revelation that working harder for money was a dead end. What he wanted was to create a lifestyle he was willing to work hard for. Richard left the trade because, although he was excelling in it, it wasnt part of the personal mission statement he was building.

S.I.M.P.L.E.

Don Campbell, president of the Real Estate Investment Network, introduced Richard to an acronym that would guide him to places where his work ethic alone couldn’t take him. S.I.M.P.L.E. or, Significantly Impact Many Peoples Lives Everyday, became his personal mission statement. Already well-placed in the real estate community, Richard utilized powerful relationships to help people take control of their finances  whether becoming debt-free, creating their own bank, buying their first property, building partnerships, or any other win-win situation he could help foster.  Bridging the gap between those looking for a solution and those who can provide it, Richard uses his extensive network to connect the dots.

Moving Forward

Changing gears entirely has meant a variety of new and interesting challenges for Richard. He made the leap from real estate investor to realtor, picking up his life insurance license along the way. Taking both life experience and learning lessons from the mistakes and successes of others, he now implements educational concepts when he sits down with potential investors, joint venture partners, and clients throughout North America. His entire focus is to create wealth for Canadian families, enabling them to achieve results financially and personally.

Building A Network of Success

Everyone in Richards network shares his high standards of personal integrity. They may adhere to different mission statements, but constant improvement – both personal and professional – is at the heart of all of them. His passion is aimed at helping Canadians master 20/20 financial foresight and learn how they can become their own bank. Richard teaches families to live their lives by their priorities, not their obligations.